Yeah, we've got half of our taxes done ...amazing what a kid does to your refund! Cha-ching! <br><br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>I found if I don't get out of the house and work people don't send me checks.<p><hr></blockquote><p>Have you tried opening and closing your front door every couple hours? Maybe you could fake leaving and still get the checks <br><br>On a serious note though ...I've thought about selling my services here as a sort of side job. How did you get started? Does most of your work come from the printing industry or individuals who have bunged systems? <br><br><br>oh, and I'm always good! You should know that! <br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>How did you get started? Does most of your work come from the printing industry or individuals who have bunged systems?<br><p><hr></blockquote><p>Well, what got me started was the second time my employer fired me for wanting a raise and being too independent, I took them up on it. Two days after firing me I was freelancing for them for 4 times what they were paying. I didn't have a non compete agreement so for the next year or so I just handed out my business cards wherever I went, till they caught wind of it and fired me for the last time. <br><br>That's how I got my customer base. Doing a good job and word of mouth are my best advertising now, although I also have a Yellow Pages ad in the Compuer Repair section, and they're not cheap. I have what's called a 1/16 page ad, $217 a month for the ad plus I have to have a business line to get an ad so it comes out to around $300 a month total for that. Most of my work, I'd guess 75% does come from the printing industry, and I haven't really tracked it but the Yellow pages ad does at least pay for itself, and as time goes on I'm getting referrals from those calls.<br><br>The way I looked at it was I was out of a job, if it failed I'd be, well, out of a job, so not much to lose. I was also single with no kids so the only risk was to me. You've got the advantage of having a full time job now so look at it this way, if you try and fail no harm done. If you don't try nothing will happen. <br><br>So try it, if you fail at least you gave it a chance, if you don't try you don't have a chance.<br><br><br><br>

Wow ...I had no idea those yellow pages ads were that expensive! What happens if you just stop paying? It's not like they can take the phonebook away ...do they just blacklist you?<br><br>How much of your business still has to do with OS 9? I know I wouldn't want to mess with that anymore. Anyway, thanks for the detailed response ...I may take out a text-only ad in the yellow pages or something. Probably build a website first though. <br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>What happens if you just stop paying? It's not like they can take the phonebook away ...do they just blacklist you?<p><hr></blockquote><p>It's tied to the phone number, they cut off your line. They make a killing. Do some math on it, $217 x16 ads per page x 12 months x the number of pages in the book! Color is more of course. I think artwork is too, not sure on that, mine's not big enough to put much in. Full page B&W ad is around $2500+ I think. Make sure it's the real yellow pages, every year the damn yellow book sends an ad that looks like an invoice that commits you to their book too for a year if you pay it. They also call each year. Some people confuse it for the yellow pages and send it in then they're stuck with two monthly bills.<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>How much of your business still has to do with OS 9?<p><hr></blockquote><p>It seems about 50-50, both commercial and private users.<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>I may take out a text-only ad in the yellow pages or something.<p><hr></blockquote><p>You'll have to convert your home phone to a business line or get an additional line. Unless you run across a promotion of some kind the business lines are usually more expensive than home lines and they may charge you like .08 a call incoming or outgoing for anything over 78 calls a month. I just switched to SBC with their winback program, they gave me a great deal, all my long distance, no limit on calls, and one extra free one line listing in the yellow pages for $57 a month plus taxes and my 800 number, the 800 is $5 a month plus the minutes used. It was $20 with ATT plus minutes. I switched my home phone to a business line to get the same deal, it gave me another free line in the yellow pages too. My yellow pages ad cost stayed the same though.<br><br>They give you good deals for the first few years with an ad, something like 1/2 off the first, 1/3 the next, 10% the next. The hardest part is figuring out where to wisely spend your advertising dollars. I think the yellow pages is worth it. It gives you a "real business" presence too.<br><br>I don't like the idea of the Internet phone stuff yet even though I may save a little more. I know my home phone in all my life has never been down, my internet has been though. I never have to reset my phone to get it to work, I have to reset my cable modem sometimes though. When Interent access becomes 100% reliable like phone lines I'll go that way.<br><br>The cut off for ads for the August yellow pages here is coming up soon BTW so that's something to consider, if you wait it won't be until next summer when your ad gets in. But it also gives you a year to plan. They start charging you for the ad when the book comes out. You can drop the ad the next year and still keep the phone line.<br><br>My communications bill is my biggest, phones, cell phone, internet and ad, all evil necssities. Then there's the other advertising on top of that, business cards, trinkets like pens, note pads etc. I have some round leather coasters that work out real well, people tend keep them around for years.<br><br>Then welcome to a whole other world of tax preparation. You think it's fun now? <br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>Yeah, we've got half of our taxes done ...amazing what a kid does to your refund! Cha-ching<p><hr></blockquote><p>Just have 3 more like us and there will really be a Cha-ching...but then you end up spending it all taking them to DisneyWorld or something. <br><br>

Yeah, I'll probably be giving it a year at the least. I'm trying to help Jennie get a site up for freelance design at the moment. Trying to motivate her is like poking a turtle with a stick <br><br>We're getting ready to drop our .Mac in April so I'm also trying to make sure I'm ready with my home machine (turned my Quicksilver into a web server) ...Hope tiger is not too glitchy cause I plan on having it on that machine as soon as possible and it's still used as my primary machine too. <br><br>Thanks for all the info though, learned quite a bit today! Don't even want to think about the tax portion of it <br><br>

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